Red Kuri Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

It's fall, so you know, delicious fall soups are in order.  When I go grocery shopping, I have a general plan for my weekday meals.  A creamy fall squash soup was not on my mind at all until I saw this cute little organic red kuri squash.  At only $0.99 per pound (organic too!), this little squash was only $1.68 and makes an inexpensive starchy vegetable to base this lovely soup around.

I have been trying to move away from eating as many grains as I have been.  (Totally nothing wrong with whole grains!  But for me they often displace whole fruits and vegetables that pack more of a nutritional punch.) I feel like every fall my body says "all the rice and pasta!", so I have to consciously incorporate more starchy vegetables.  When I crack down and eat starchy vegetables like with sweet potatoes and this delicious red kuri squash, I am never disappointed.

Red Kuri Squash and Sweet Potato Soup 
Time: approx. 1 hour total
Servings: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
    1 small to medium red kuri squash
    1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed (approximately 2 cups)
    1 large yellow onion, diced
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    2 cups vegetable broth
    1-16 oz can lite coconut milk (*see note below)
    1 Tbsp mild curry powder (**see note below)

Instructions:
1.)  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Wash the outside of the red kuri squash.  With a sharp chef's knife, carefully cut the quash in half.  Scoop out the seeds and stringy guts (these seeds can be saved and baked for a crunch snack).  Lay the squash halves face down on a baking sheet and place in preheated oven.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the outside of the squash halves are easily pierced with a fork.  Remove, turn over, and allow to cool.

2.)  While the squash halves are cooling, saute the onion and garlic in a medium saucepan (or in a pressure cooker), adding small amounts of vegetable broth to keep from sticking to the pan.  Once fragrant and soft add in the sweet potato and remaining vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. (Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, quick release.)

3.)  Once the squash is relatively cool, scoop out the soft flesh and discard the outer shell (compost!).  Add in the onion sweet potato soup, lite coconut milk, and curry powder.  Blend on medium-high until smooth and creamy.  Serve hot by itself or topped with some fresh cilantro or thai basil.

Amy's Notes:
*I used lite coconut milk in a can, but if you want to reduce your fat and calorie content further, you can use coconut milk from a carton, or any other low calorie unsweetened plant milk.

**For the curry powder, I used an African Curry blend that I had in my pantry, but any powdered curry will do.  If you'd like to use a curry paste, start with 1/2 tsp and add to taste as you are blending.  In case you're curious, my African Curry blend includes yellow mustard, curry leaves, fenugreek (holla at all the other breastfeeding mamas out there), onion, ginger, oriander, tumeric, cayenne, cumin, cilantro, garlic, green cardamom, black pepper, and cinnamon.

Health and Happiness,

Amy

Red Beans and Rice in the Pressure Cooker

Happy Marti Gras to all!

I LOOOOVE red beans and rice.  I hadn't tried it before Kevin and I took our (belated) honeymoon vacation cruise out of Houston, TX last May.  Once we returned home, I knew I needed to make a homemade version so I could have this comforting, spicy, and delicious dish at home whenever I wanted.  I came up with my Vegan Red Beans and Rice dish back in June, but since then I have gotten my beloved Instant Pot pressure cooker and needed to adapt the recipe.

This weekend, Kevin and I took a trip to a cute nearby town called Port Townsend.  Kevin really wanted to try a Southern-inspired restaurant there, called Addie Mae's Southern Kitchen, that his parents had told him about, and we thought it would be a nice day to walk around Fort Worden.  It ended being a beautiful, mostly sunny day.  We ended up getting in over 3 miles of hiking around!  We hadn't been back here since we first started dating (four years ago almost to the day), so we took a before and after picture.

Before in February 2011.  Kevin was quite beardless, and I haven't aged a bit... right? ;)

After 4 years together.  The water in the background is part of the Puget Sound where our Alaskan Cruise ship will be passing through come August.  I'm so excited to have another awesome vacation with this guy to look forward to!

At Addie Mae's, Kevin had his chicken and waffles he had been wanting so badly, while I settled on the vegetarian red beans and rice.  Expecting something similar to what I make, it actually came with a whole lot of rice, topped with some beans and veggies.  Perhaps there are different ways to make and serve it, but I prefer my version with a whole lot of beans with some rice mixed in.  Maybe that is from 4+ years of being a Nutritarian, my brain is rewired to prefer more beans than rice!

Addie Mae's version of (vegetarian) Red Beans and Rice.  I did enjoy the bigger chunks of
vegetables, although I wouldn't be able to make it like that at home and expect Kevin to eat it.
I was not a huge fan of how much rice it had.
This version used large red kidney beans, but I prefer the small red beans.
 I also needed to add quite a bit of hot sauce to it.

So, last night, in the spirit of Marti Gras (and wanting to remember how great the bean-heavy version of red beans and rice is), I decided to make my version in my Instant Pot.  Because the IP cooks so quickly, I added a bit more spices than the original stove top recipe, and because it limits evaporation, I cut the liquids down quite a bit.

Red Beans and Rice
Time: 5 minute prep, 8 minutes high pressure, natural pressure release
Servings: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

This is what small red beans look like
before soaking.  Kevin was nice enough
 to get them soaking on his day off
(lucky teachers!) while I was at work.
He had to send me a picture to confirm
that he was picking the right ones.
You could most certainly use red
kidney beans, but you would need to
adjust the cooking time a bit.

        1 lb small red beans, soaked (quick or overnight - see note below), drained, and rinsed
        1 yellow onion, finely chopped
        1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
        3 celery stalks, finely chopped
        4 cloves garlic, minced (approximately 1 Tbsp)
        3 cups vegetable broth (boiling if possible)
        1 1/2 cups boiling water
        1.5 Tbsp chili powder
        1.5 tsp smoked paprika
        1.5 tsp dried thyme
        1 tsp dried oregano
        1 tsp dried parsley
        2 bay leaves
        1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
        Fresh ground black pepper to taste

        cooked brown rice
        green onions
        Louisiana hot sauce
        nutritional yeast

Instructions:
1.)  While you are prepping the other ingredients, bring the water and vegetable broth to a boil in a large saucepan.  Cover until you are ready to use.  In a pressure cooker, if you add boiling liquids, it will help it come up to high pressure sooner.  (See my notes below.)

2.)  In a heated pressure cooker, saute the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic until lightly cooked and browned, adding small amounts of water to prevent burning.

3.)  Add into the pressure cooker the beans, spices, and boiling vegetable broth and water, being careful to pour slowly as not to scald yourself.

4.)  Stir to combine well and lock the lid into place.  Set to high pressure for 8 minutes.  Once the timer is up, allow pressure to come down naturally (for the IP, warm or off setting will work).

5.)  After the pressure has come down, release the lid and stir.  Use an immersion blender, or blend a few cups of the beans and liquid in a high powered blender.  You will want the red beans to be creamy, but have chunks of beans and vegetables.

6.)  Serve hot topped with brown rice, and your favorite condiments like nutritional yeast, green onion, or Louisiana hot sauce.

Amy's Notes:

To soak the beans, measure out 1 lb and pick out any stones, sticks, or damaged dried beans.  Then put them in a large bowl and cover with at least two inches of water.  Allow to soak overnight or while you are at work.  Strain the beans and rinse thoroughly before beginning the recipe.

Alternatively, you can use the quick soak method in the Instant pot.  Measure out 1 lb and pick out any stones, sticks, or damaged beans.  Add them to your pressure cooker with enough water to cover.  Lock the lid in place and set to high pressure for 1 minute.  Wait until the pressure comes down naturally, then strain the beans and rinse thoroughly before beginning the recipe.

I have had success with both of these methods, but I prefer to soak my beans during the day, because it results in less time waiting around the kitchen to start making the meal.

As I mentioned in the instructions, it is helpful to bring the vegetable broth and water to a boil before adding it to the pressure cooker.  This is not necessary for the recipe, but will make bringing the pressure cooker to high pressure that much faster.  If you are not in any sort of time crunch, no need to bother.  This can be done to any recipe to make coming to pressure that much quicker.

Health and Happiness,

Superbowl XLIX Recipe Roundup

Is everyone ready for the Superbowl this Sunday?  Obviously, being from Washington I am a Seahawks fan!  We are having some friends from Spokane visit us this weekend so they can come to Seattle to watch the game in a big bar with us.  Should be loud, fun, and exciting!

They aren't getting here until late late Saturday night, so earlier in the evening, I'm going to a local natural food market called Marlene's for a WFPB class hosted by Nina from Urban Vegan Chic.  Although, after 4 years of practicing a Nutritarian lifestyle, I know my way around the WFPB-block, you never know what new things you will learn.  I'm excited to have this opportunity to meet others in my community with similar interests.

Since moving to Puyallup in July, I have felt a little disconnected from not having any face-to-face plant-based support in my life.  (I'm a part of several facebook group centered around ETL, which are wonderful.)  My parents, when I lived in Spokane, were my nearby support where I could go for a meal and never have to worry about being served SAD foods or being challenge for my ideals.  Hopefully I can find some of that support through classes like these.  I'm optimistic. :)

Now on to the Superbowl... what are you going to make!?  Although we are going to be spending the day in Seattle for Superbowl, I ended up making some snackies for a work party and for Saturday snacking.  Here are a few of my favorite game-day dishes: (links to each recipe are included in the titles)

APPETIZERS

We ALL know that the best part of Superbowl is grazing on appetizers for a good portion of the day.  Keep yourself and your guests satisfied with these healthy appetizers alongside whole-grain chips/crackers and veggies.

Spicy Cajun Cauliflower Bites


Guacamole and Mexi-Salad


Pico De Gallo


Vegan Ranch Dip


Roasted Pine Nut Hummus (Mock Sabre Hummus)


Spicy Buffalo Hummus (This one is my favorite for game day with celery sticks!)


Whole Wheat Vegan Naan to go with hummus (Step-by-step instructions with pictures!)



Oil-Free Baked Falafels with this Tzatziki-like Dip



Baked Vegetable "Fries"


SIDES

Here are two of my favorite "side dishes" that would go well with Superbowl fare:

Spicy Macaroni Salad


Quick Collard Wraps


MAIN DISH

This is my absolute FAVORITE chili!  It cooks up quick and easy in a pressure cooker from dried beans, or can be done fairly quickly on the stovetop with canned beans.  This recipe will feed a small crowd, but it never lasts too long when we have friends over.

Three Bean Chili (Pressure Cooker Friendly)


DESSERT

Every Superbowl party has to have something sweet to go with all of the savory appetizers.  Try this dessert dip with apple slices or some whole wheat gram crackers.  It is sure to hit the sweet-spot!

Brownie Batter Dip



Health and Happiness,

Amy

Rosemary and Olive White Bean Spread

I made this dip just before we went to Spokane for Thanksgiving.  I had had some white beans I wanted to use up before our trip across state and knew I would be able to bring along the dip to share with my family in the cooler we were packing.

This dip is great for a party, and with the particular olives I used, it gave the dip little specks of green and red.  Very Christmas-y, yes?  If you are just making the dip for your own household use, I would suggest making only a half batch.

What I love best about this recipe is that it has that zing that lemon gives traditional hummus, but without the need to get out your lemon juicer.  However, beware that, depending on the type of olive you use, most come in a pickled form that has quite a bit of salt already added in.  If you are trying to watch your salt intake, perhaps you could rinse off your olives before chopping and blending.

Rosemary and Olive White Bean Dip
Time: 10 minutes
Servings: party-size

Ingredients:
    Bean Dip:
        2-16 oz cans white beans, rinsed and drained (approximately 3 cups cooked beans)
        3/4 cup green olives
        1/2 cup raw cashews
        1/3+ cup water
        2 tsp dried rosemary
        black pepper to taste

    Dip Topping:
        1/4 cup green olives, roughly chopped
        1 tsp dried rosemary

Instructions:
1.)  In a food processor, process 1 can of beans with the cashews and water until smooth and creamy.
2.)  Add the second can of beans and continue to process until smooth and creamy.
3.)  Add the green olives, rosemary, and black pepper, and process until relatively smooth, with a few small chunks of olive.
4.)  Place into a large serving dish and sprinkle with chopped green olives and additional rosemary.  Serve with veggies and whole grain crackers to dip.

Amy's Notes:
Like I said above, be careful with how salty the olives are that you add to the recipe.  If you find that your food processor has a hard time getting cashew pieces to become really creamy, I would suggest soaking them for a few hours before processing.


Health and Happiness,

Amy

Thanksgiving Desserts

Have you finished making your Thanksgiving menu yet?  Come on buddy!  Get on it!

There is still time and more than enough ideas for you in the blogosphere!  I thought I would give you guys a  list of some of my recipes to help give you some ideas.

This is a series of posts with desserts bringing up the end.  See the appetizer, salad, side, and main dish posts here.

Ok, so you've eaten wonderful and healthful foods for appetizers, salads, sides, and the main dish.  It wouldn't be too bad to eat a SAD dessert, right?  Wrong!  Don't go there!  There are tons and tons of healthful dessert options for you!

Here are a few ideas from my recipe stash:

Banana Ice Cream

Brownie Batter Dip

Berry Coconut Chia Pudding

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Vegan Carrot Cake Cookies

Here are a few of my favorites from around the blogosphere:

Pumpkin Pie from Helyn's Healthy Kitchen

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie from Helyn's Healthy Kitchen

Healthy Apple Pie from Healthy Girl's Kitchen

Deep Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies from Produce on Parade


Happy Thanksgiving,

Amy

Thanksgiving Main Dishes

Have you finished making your Thanksgiving menu yet?  Come on buddy!  Get on it!

There is still time and more than enough ideas for you in the blogosphere!  I thought I would give you guys a  list of some of my recipes to help give you some ideas.

This is a series of posts, so stay tuned for the Dessert post to come!  See the appetizer, salad, and side posts here.

This is often one of the hardest transitions for those going WFPB for Thanksgiving for the first time.  However, just because a dead animal isn't in the center of your table doesn't mean you have to suffer, but it does mean no turkeys have to suffer. :)

I don't have too many main dishes to suggest from my past blog posts, but I'll give you a short list of my recipes, and a longer list of recipe ideas I would recommend giving a try.

My Recipes:

Sweet Potato Macaroni and "Cheese"

Greens and Beans with Rice

Easy Vegetable Pizza

Stuffed Artichokes

Other suggestions: Keep in mind some of these recipes might contain some ingredients that make them not quite nutritarian-perfect, but some simple adjustments, replacements, and eliminations can fix that.

Stuffed squashes like this one, this one, or this one.

Grain/legume based loaves like this one, this one, or this one.

Risotto and other decadent grain dishes like this one, this one, or this one.

Hearty casseroles like this one, this one, or this one.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Amy

Thanksgiving Sides

Have you finished making your Thanksgiving menu yet?  Come on buddy!  Get on it!

There is still time and more than enough ideas for you in the blogosphere!  I thought I would give you guys a  list of some of my recipes to help give you some ideas.

This is a series of posts, so stay tuned for the main dish and dessert posts to come!  See the appetizer and salad posts here.

Now on to my favorite part of Thanksgiving!  The sides!  My favorite sides are usually potatoes.  In recent years my favorite side has been baked sweet potatoes.  They are easy, simple, sweet, and delicious!  To roast sweet potatoes preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Wash the sweet potatoes and poke several times with a fork.  Place the sweet potatoes on a pan lined with foil and place in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning halfway though, until tender.

For some other side ideas try one of these recipes:

Nutty Green Bean Casserole

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Walnuts

Creamed Kale and Onions

Colcannon with Kale

Along with these sides, a soup is another side that is warming, delicious, and easy to make on the stovetop, in a slow cooker, or in a pressure cooker.

Pumpkin Basil Soup

Creamy Broccoli Soup

Katie's Creamy Potato Leek Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

Amy's Favorite Lentil Soup

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Happy Thanksgiving,

Amy

Thanksgiving Salads and Dressings

Have you finished making your Thanksgiving menu yet?  Come on buddy!  Get on it!

There is still time and more than enough ideas for you in the blogosphere!  I thought I would give you guys a  list of some of my recipes to help give you some ideas.

This is a series of posts, so stay tuned for the side, main dish, and dessert posts to come!  See the appetizer post here.

Ok, I'll admit, salads are usually not what most people look forward to most for Thanksgiving, but they can be a beautiful, delicious, and nutritious part of the meal.  A basic green salad is a good way to go to please everyone so they can have a salad dressing of their choice.

Basic green salad ingredients could include:

• Mixture of greens: romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, ice burg lettuce, spinach, arugula, savoy cabbage, green cabbage, kale, baby kale, collard greens, swiss chard, beet greens, turnip greens, mustard greens,  spring mix
• Colorful veggies: cucumber, bell pepper, radishes, carrots, corn, tomatoes, broccoli, snow peas, fresh herbs, red cabbage, avocado, cauliflower, beets, black olives, mushrooms
• Add some pizzaz:  peppercinis, artichokes, red onion, green onion, dried cranberries, green olives, kalamata olives,  pomegranate arils, apple slices, and slices of oranges, lemons, or limes
• Add some crunch: walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, roasted chickpeas (like this, minus the oil), croutons made from whole grain bread

Now for the dressing, give one or a few of these a try:

Vegan Ranch Dressing

Vegan Caesar Dressing

Vegan 1000 Island Dressing

One-Two Dressing

Cranberry Dijon Dressing

Orange, Carrot, and Cashew Dressing

If a green salad with dressing isn't fancy enough, perhaps give one of these salads:

Superfood Salad

Pomegranate Wheat Berry Salad

Sweet and Savory Wheat Berry Salad with Brussels Sprouts

Happy Thanksgiving,

Amy

Thanksgiving Appetizers

Have you finished making your Thanksgiving menu yet?  Come on buddy!  Get on it!

My mom and I collaborated earlier this week on our Thanksgiving line-up this year, which is made up of mostly Nutritarian-geared dishes and a few traditionally made dishes for the non-nutritarians.  I was rather silly and actually made a spreadsheet with the list of recipes, links to those recipes, and a grocery list down to the exact amount of each ingredient we needed.  Hopefully my super organized mom found it helpful and not too neurotic!

However, if you don't have your Thanksgiving dinner planned down into an overly obsessive spreadsheet, don't fret!  There is still time and more than enough ideas for you in the blogosphere!  I thought I would give you guys a quick list of some of my recipes to help give you some ideas.

This is a series of posts, so stay tuned for the Salad, Sides, Mains, and Dessert posts to come!

For some appetizers to start out, a variety of fresh vegetables are always a great go-to.  They are low in calories, high in fiber, and won't fill up your guests too much before the meal.  But what do you serve with the veggies?  Try one of my many hummus/bean dips.  For a fun experience for your guests, try making a half batch of your favorite 4-6 bean dips and ask your guests to debate on which is their favorite!

Hummus with Roasted Pine Nuts - This is always my family's go-to recipe for basic hummus.  I made the recipe for my dad a few years ago as a Father's Day present.  To do this I did a side-by-side comparison to Sabre Pine Nut hummus (my dad's favorite) while I was making it.  We couldn't tell the difference once it was done, and have opted to make my low/no-oil, low sodium version ever since.

Fresh Chive Hummus

Spicy Buffalo Hummus

Green Split Pea Dip

Lentil-Cashew Dip

Coconut Curry Dip

Happy Thanksgiving,

Amy